1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toy projectile launchers and more particularly to a pump style toy projectile launcher employing a central shaft cocking mechanism extending through a projectile device for rapid fire projectile launching through quick, simple and fun cocking and triggering mechanisms which are easy to actuate.
2. Background of the Invention
Toy projectile launchers which shoot or launch projectiles have been popular for many years. These launchers have been designed over the years to launch projectiles one at a time in a reload mode, or rapid fire mode through various methods including magazines, indexing wheels, and drop down chambers which continuously feed projectiles into a gun barrel. Additionally, many of the launchers utilize bursts or streams of pressurized or compressed fluid as a convenient and reliable force in which to eject the toy projectiles.
Various mechanisms for storing and delivering a burst or stream of compressed air are known to include manual and automated air pumps, motor driven air pumps, compressed gas lines, or canisters of compressed gas, etc., employed in toy launchers. These include, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,526 to Bligh et al. for “Toy projectile launcher with slidable outer cylinder and stationary inner compression member” issued Oct. 30, 2007, U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,118 to Eddins et al. for “Toy system with detachable weapons” issued Sep. 11, 2007, U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,216 to Johnson et al. for “Automatic pressurized fluid gun” issued Aug. 27, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,869 to Johnson et al. for “Compressed air toy gun” issued Aug. 4, 1998.
Further means for generating and storing the mechanical energy needed to launch the projectiles may be in the form of a cocked spring mechanism, with a piston or plunger for compressing a column of air, a chamber or fluid reservoir holding air in a compressed state, and a piston and cylinder assembly with a movable cylinder generating a burst of compressed air when released to slide over the stationary piston, all known to propel the projectile upon release of the stored mechanical energy. Manual air pumps are mechanically differently from motor driven or continuous air lines or canisters because manual air pumps must also include mechanisms for manually charging or cocking the toy launcher before it can be fired.
Toy launchers employing manual air pumps are very well known in the art and reliably deliver a burst of compressed air to launch toy projectiles. Known manual air pumps are seen to employ the cocked spring mechanism, fluid reservoir, and piston and cylinder assemblies as described above. Cocking the compression spring, piston, plunger, or cylinder of the known manual air pumps includes various mechanisms manually actuated by a user.
For example, it is known to employ a breech slide mounted to an outside surface of a gun frame to retract a spring loaded piston and piston rod within a cylinder to a cocked position. The breach slide is secured to the piston rod and slides longitudinally upon the upper rearward part of the frame portion of the toy gun above the handle. The breach slide is pulled by a user away from the muzzle of the toy gun, pulling the piston rod and piston to a cocked position. The breach slide is known only to reside on the outside surface of the gun housing for manual access by a user and cannot extend through the projectile chamber.
Another known cocking mechanism includes a grip mounted to slide on the outside surface of a barrel of a toy gun. The grip is connected to a ring encircling a casing contained within the barrel and including a compression spring. The grip is pulled toward the muzzle of the barrel by a user moving the casing toward the muzzle compressing and cocking the spring. An additionally known cocking mechanism includes a slide member mounted to an outside surface of a toy gun and operable to slide along the housing to cock the spring loaded cylinder. The slide member includes a rod which contacts a shoulder of the cylinder when the slide is drawn away from the muzzle of the gun by a user to cock the slidable cylinder on the fixed piston.
Significantly, known toy launchers do not include a cocking mechanism capable of extending through a projectile device. It would be desirable to provide a central shaft cocking mechanism extending through a projectile device for manually cocking a spring loaded cylinder on a fixed piston enabling the toy launcher to rapid fire two or more loaded projectiles. The cocking mechanism extending through the projectile device facilitates a mechanical communication between a trigger mechanism and the projectile device capable of advancing the device to a firing position with the same trigger pull used to release the cocked cylinder and launch the projectile.